Exploring Water Filtration Options {which water filter is best?}

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The Safe Drinking Water Act was written in 1974…

Did you know that's the most recent government law passed to purify and make safe our drinking water?

Of the over 60,000 chemicals used in the United States, this act regulates only 91 of them! You've probably got lead, mercury, sex hormones, anti-seizure medication, cleaning products, and rocket fuel coming out of your faucets every. single. day.

Do I have your attention yet?

Facts About American Tap Water

“In the United States, a massive amount of new toxins totaling nearly 18 billion pounds are released into the groundwater, soil, and atmosphere annually” (source).

“Pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, sex hormones, anti-depressants, and seizure pills have been found in the tap water of at least 41 million Americans. Water treatment centers are not currently required to test for pharmaceuticals. Researchers are unsure if the cumulative levels are hazardous” (source).

Many people drinking dangerous contaminants do not even realize it. This is because pollution and chemicals in tap water often have no scent or taste.

“Efforts to tighten drinking water standards that would regulate and restrict common drinking water contaminants such as perchlorate (a rocket fuel additive), tricholoethylene (a degreaser used in manufacturing), and perchloroethylene (a cleaning solvent) have been blocked by industrial and military lobbyists” (source).

Drinking water reports from cities such as Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, Boston, Seattle, and Washington D.C. included false or misleading claims or buried crucial information about their cities' water deep in water reports (source).

Most cities don't report on health effects cause by various contaminants found in water tests. Either that, or they fail to translate their water reports into languages spoken by a large minority of their population. (Source.)

Finally, flouride is added to virtually all municipal water sources, touted as beneficial for strong, healthy teeth. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Read more about where our government gets the fluoride they add to our water here. And if that doesn't convince you to back off the tap water, I don't know what will!

Facts About Bottled Water

Maybe you figured out long ago that tap water wasn't good for you. Or, maybe you noticed its funky, plastic, pool water taste. So then you switched to bottled water.

Unfortunately, bottled water isn't all it's cracked up to be — and certainly isn't worth its price tag!

First of all, depending on your location, bottled water costs up to 560 times more than tap water (source).

And then, just making plastic bottles requires 3 times more water than filling them (source).

“In the United States, 24% of bottled water sold is either Pepsi’s Aquafina (13% of the market) or Coke’s Dasani (11% of the market). Both brands are bottled, purified municipal water” (source).

“Antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting and death” (source).

Did you know that the federal government actually places more purity, testing, and quality restrictions on tap water than bottled water (source)? This means less frequent bacteria testing, no mandatory violations reports to officials, and no filtration or disinfection requirements on the federal level.

Facts About Shower & Bath Water

Did you know that showering in chlorinated tap water may be even worse than drinking it?

The government adds chlorine to our water to kill potentially harmful organisms… Well, doesn't it make sense that chlorine is harmful to us, too? We're living organisms!

One of the most shocking components to all of these studies is that up to two thirds of our harmful exposure to chlorine is due to inhalation of steam and skin absorption while showering. A warm shower opens up the pores of the skin and allows for accelerated absorption of chlorine and other chemicals in water. The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 50 times the level of chemicals than tap water due to the fact that chlorine and most other contaminants vaporize much faster and at a lower temperature than water. Inhalation is a much more harmful means of exposure since the chlorine gas (chloroform) we inhale goes directly into our blood stream. When we drink contaminated water the toxins are partially filtered out by our kidneys and digestive system.

Chlorine vapors are known to be a strong irritant to the sensitive tissue and bronchial passages inside our lungs; it was used as a chemical weapon in World War II. The inhalation of chlorine is a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis, especially in children, which has increased 300% in the last two decades. “Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of chlorine in the water.” –Dr Lance Wallace, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (source).

According to Dr. Mercola, a 7 minute shower in chlorinated tap water exposes your body to more chlorine than drinking 1 gallon of tap water (source)!

Water Filtration Options: Which Water Filter Is Best???

So, to recap… Tap water — whether coming out of the kitchen faucet or shower head — is likely full of dangerous, cancer- and birth defect-causing chemicals. And bottled water is nothing more than tap water with a fancy label.

What other options do we have? I'm glad you asked!

Home water filtration is tricky business. No one wants to waste their money on expensive filtration systems that don't actually work or that may be harmful.

Here are your options, each ranked either worst, better, or best:

Option #1 — Reverse Osmosis (Worst)

Reverse osmosis works by forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane to filter out contaminants. If the contaminants are larger than water molecules, the filter will “catch” them and remove them from the water. If they are the same size or smaller than water molecules, they remain in the water.

RO water is primarily used for drinking and some cooking, meaning that tap water still contaminates bathing water.

Although the process of reverse osmosis does remove many of tap water's toxins — such as lead, copper, arsenic, nitrates, organic chemicals, and fluoride (source) — NONE are removed 100%.

RO filters don't remove gases (like chlorine), or particles smaller than water molecules (like VOCs and endocrine disruptors). This means they must be paired with a carbon filter.

Not to mention, reverse osmosis also removes essential minerals (like up to 99% of calcium and magnesium) from water (source). This is a major downfall.

Interestingly, water kefir shouldn't be cultured in RO water because of the lack of minerals (source). So why drink it if it's not even good for your water kefir grains?!

Leading alternative practitioner Dr. Lawrence Wilson says that RO water has a chelating effect. When consumed for months at a time, it actually chelates minerals out of the body to produce an even greater mineral deficiency (source).

Nutritionist Daniel Vitalis calls RO water the “white flour” of water because it is so void of any nutritional value (source).

So, sure — it's free of tap water's toxins, but it's also free of the beneficial minerals and electrolytes so essential to good health.

Option #2 — Pitcher Filters (Better, But Not Ideal)

A University of Arizona study concluded that between 49% to 80% of a select few contaminants were removed by pitcher filters like Brita and Pur. This means that between 20% and 100% of contaminants were left behind (source).

While effective at removing unpleasant tastes or odors from tap water, pitcher filters do not remove VOCs, endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, or fluoride.

Another downside? Pitcher filters take from 30 to 60 minutes to filter water, and they're not that big. If you have more than 1 or 2 people drinking that water, and you're using it for cooking, this is quite inconvenient and inefficient.

Filter cartridges also need to be changed often to keep up filtration. This is costly in the long run, especially if your municipal water is very contaminated.

Like RO, pitcher filters may take care of some toxins in your drinking and cooking water, but what about bathing and cleaning water?

The bath ball eliminates up to 100% of chlorine and up to 30% of chloramine in just a few minutes! The shower head, on the other hand, removes over 90% of chlorine by neutralizing it into a harmless, biodegradable compound.

Both are economical. The bath ball lasts up to 200 baths, which means it costs a mere 22 cents per bath! The shower filter lasts a family of 4 up to 1 year. If every member of a family of 4 showered daily for 1 year, it would cost 3 cents per shower, or 12 cents per day, to have a chlorine-free shower!

For homeowners who can't afford a whole-house filtration system, or renters who can't install whole-house or point-of-use filtration systems, shower and bath filters are a great option.

Even the EPA considers activated carbon and carbon block filters to be the best technology available to remove pesticides, herbicides, and industrial chemicals (source).

These types of filters sit in canisters on your countertop or table. Once filled with water, the water flows down through the filters which remove chemicals but keep essential minerals.

Not only do these filtration systems work for city and well water purification, but during a power outage or camping trip, they also safely filter lake, river, and pond water!

Katie at The Wellness Mama tested the Berkey and found that it even removed food coloring she added to the water!

The cost per system ranges from $150 for the smallest option to $325 for the largest. You choose which size works best for you based upon the size of your family and your daily water usage.

The filters don't have to be replaced nearly as often as RO and pitcher filters, making this system a larger up-front investment, but lowering maintenance costs over time. The filters do take up some counter space (less than 2 square feet), but they are sleek in design and not an eyesore at all.

Please note that carbon block filters do NOT filter out flouride. You will need to buy a separate filter for fluoride, which most people who own these systems do.

In addition to carbon filtration, a sediment base and zeolite remove fluoride, heavy metals, VOCs, hydrogen sulfide, bacteria, and fungi. They also prevent scale build-up from hard water. It is suitable for both municipal and well water!

This is a hassle-free option — you purchase 1 system and all points of water, from faucets, tubs, shower heads, and toilets, are all safe.

There are several key things that make our 14-Stage System unique. First, it incorporates three purifiers (reverse osmosis and two deionization purifying stages) to form the foundation of the system, which ensures 99.99% purification when new, only falling to 99.9% over time. Almost all other reverse osmosis-based systems use just one purifier and thus may start at 95% purification, but after a year that figure will often be as low as 80%. This is just one of the things that water dealers won't tell you.

Our unique pre- and post-filters offer additional filtration (two of these filters are unique in the industry) and we also include a stainless steel and quartz UV light for added protection against bacteria and pathogens. These first seven stages are designed to remove all toxins in your water, no matter if you even know what they are!

Creating Biocompatible water is completed in the second seven stages of this system. The water is balanced, restructured, and remineralized mimicking the best waters in nature, to give you alkaline, silky water that you will love.

This is as close to natural running water as you can get!

Option #7 — Spring Water: Very Best For Drinking & Cooking

Gravity-fed spring water is, in my opinion, the absolute BEST water for drinking. This is “living water”, full of all the beneficial electrolytes and trace minerals our bodies need. The taste is clean, clear, fresh, and unrivaled.

Unfortunately, you can't obtain this water from any filtration system. 😉 You have to find it at the source.

Research carefully if you want to buy bottles of spring water. Many bottlers of “spring” water are bottling nothing more than purified tap water, when it is definitely NOT mountain spring or glacier water like the label claims.

Not to mention, I don't like the waste that buying even quality bottled spring water produces, so I like to go out and find it myself!

Find A Spring is a site dedicated to connecting people with local springs all over the world. There, you can take your own container and bottle the clean, mineral-rich water right from the source — usually for FREE.

To me, this is the best way to ensure you're drinking the kind of water your body craves (and needs)!

*I have not discussed ion water filtration, distilled water, or alkalinized water. In my opinion, they are not healthful for regular consumption. The ideal pH for drinking water is neutral, between 6.5 and 7.5. Distilled water is too acidic. Alkaline water is too alkaline. Neither is beneficial to maintain homeostasis.

Did you stick with me to the end? Give yourself a pat on the back! That was a lot of information, wasn't it?!

What type of water filtration do you use? Which water filter is best for YOU?

We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).

About Lindsey Dietz

Native Texans, Lindsey and her family now live in the northern Minnesota wilderness on their dream property, where they are attempting to raise chickens and a few of their own veggies. In her free time, she enjoys food photography, flipping through cookbooks, and tackling home improvement projects. She also serves on the board of her local food co-op. Lindsey has dedicated much of her time over the past several years to unlearning conventional practices and implementing Traditional foods and natural remedies in her home. This has radically changed her and her family's health. Lindsey now loves to share her knowledge and recipes through her blog All The Nourishing Things and her eBooks: Nourishing No-Bake Treats and Sweet Without Sugar.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Hi Anna! I see that they have shower filters, but do not say how much chlorine is removed from the water. Their shower filter lasts 6 months, compared to the Radiant Life filter which is supposed to last a family of four up to a year. I think the Radiant Life filter is a better deal.

Their under-counter filters look pretty good, but I can’t tell what the filter is made of. It says “Claryum”, but doesn’t say what that’s made of. Is it carbon block? Reverse osmosis? I don’t think they’re giving all of the info we need to make an informed decision. Does that help?

Aquasana’s website does not disclose what is in its under the counter filters or where they are made. I’ve spoken with at least 10 individuals from Aquasana, multiple managers, tech support reps, customer service and sales people. I cannot get a straight answer as to what is in their filters. Despite their website boasting an ion exchange media, reps, including tech support, have insisted there is only carbon in the filters. Finally, one manager stated the ion exchange media was zeolite/ATS. A second manager then insisted it was actually KDF media and not ATS/zeolite. When asked where their filters are made, I’ve received the following responses: I don’t know, we make then in Texas, we buy them from Singapore, we are a distributor and we buy them from a company in Florida. Basically it sounds like if you buy Aquasana, neither you nor Aquasana will know what you’re getting or where it came from. With products such as KDF reportedly leaching copper (which can be toxic) and zeolite/ATS not studied or certified for residential use, I’m skipping Aquasana all together.

My friend Lucy has an Aquasana. We bought an Aquaox from http://www.aquaoxfilters.com Have you ever heard of it? Lucy’s water tasted pretty good but the Aquaox in our house and it tastes amazing (even better than the Aquasana water).

We use Aquasanna shower filters and change them every 4 months to be safe and due to heavy use. Our city uses both chlorine AND ammonia which makes chloramines and that requires a more specialized filter. Aquasanna sells both. It is my understanding that the “regular” filters get out chlorine but NOT chloramines and these are even worse for skin and basic health.

The communities around here where I live have their own wells so that’s what we use. Our water in our community has a lot of limestone so for drinking and cooking we use our Berkey. We have used pitchers with filters but I’d never go back to them. We love our berkey.

You raise some good points in your post, and I can appreciate the info on how different types of filtration equipment work. There are, however, a few points I think you need to clarify.

1. Just because the last federal legislation on drinking water was passed in the 70’s does not mean state and local legislation is that old. Also, just because legislation hasn’t been updated or replaced, that does not mean it is invalid, or unenforced. Passing legislation in the 70’s does not mean they stopped monitoring, testing, or treating our water then.

2. You may want to rethink the wisdom of telling people to hunt down their own spring for water. Many springs are contaminated with lots of nasty things that human bodies don’t get along with.

A lot of these things (toxic compounds, dangerous bacteria, high levels of otherwise benign minerals, etc.) are naturally occurring in the “fresh, pure” spring water . They are cultured, carried, or collected by the water as it passes through the earth on its way to the spring opening. Many of these things aren’t just bad for you, they are deadly.

Other contaminants in springs include anything that gets into the watershed and is not filtered out by all of the biological organisms, organic matter and rock they flow through to get to the spring. These things include all the pesticides and fertilizers that every homeowner on that water shed is putting on their lawn, and all the runoff from streets and highways and waste disposal areas and septic systems…. And before you say that a spring far from a major city should be ok, research has proven that watershed areas for many springs are hundreds or thousands of square miles. In fact,some research has shown water moving across whole states from source to spring mouth.

The only way to know if spring water is safe to drink is to get it tested each and every time you collect it. Any tests you can use at home or pay for in a lab are as effective or less effective than the tests your municipality is using to determine if your tap water is safe. This means that all the contaminants that may be in your tap water, May be in your spring water and either way – you have no way of knowing it.

I don’t mean to be excessively negative, but I felt that your post omitted some key information. In the end, either trust your municipality or buy one of the filtration options listed. But don’t mistake unchanged legislation for a lack of oversight or “natural” collected spring water for “pure” product. There is a reason camping stores sell water purification tablets… Ground water is not always potable even from a spring.

Thanks so much for your feedback! You brought up some really good points. You’re right that we need to be careful about spring water. In fact, the Find a Spring website states: “Disclaimer: Please independently test all spring water before you make the decision to consume it. This website is simply a source for locating springs, we do not validate water safety.”

Hmmm…I have to respectfully disagree with you, Lydia, about updated testing by municipalities, etc. When was the last time you ever heard of a local, state or Federal agency updating anything they do (except taxes) without being forced through legislation? If their requirements are from the 70s you can bet more that 90% (if not 100%) of them are still doing the same tests they did in the 70s. But, I do agree with you on picking up spring water willy-nilly. The spring water in Florida (where I live now) is horrid – nothing like the fresh, clean, clear well-water I grew up on which came from the Ogalala Aquifer. Never thought I’d miss the water!

Amanda, actually in the text right next to the heading “Reverse Osmosis” it says it’s the worst option, not the best. 😉 And to clarify in case it wasn’t clear, while it’s good at removing toxins, it’s actually the worst for drinking water because it removes the essential minerals our bodies need, and it is literally dehydrating. Does that clear things up?

There are RO systems that come with a gravity fed carbon filtering system along with customizable filters that place beneficial minerals back into the water, remove bacteria, remove pharmaceuticals, etc. Not all RO systems are the same. You get what you pay for. These systems are much more expensive than the popular RO systems you would find at home improvement stores and such but they do exist. =)

I have not looked at Mercola’s system. I’m a big fan of Dr. Mercola’s research, and he’s my go-to for my own research, however, I am not a big fan of all his products. Not that they’re sub-quality products, because I don’t think they are. I just have a hard time buying from someone who claims their products are the best and only products people should be using. Mercola’s products are notoriously expensive, and there are still quality products to be found elsewhere that don’t even come close to his prices. I haven’t personally reviewed his filtration system. There is no way I could have reviewed every filtration option available in one post. Thanks!

Thank you Lindsey, for posting on the topic of water filtration. It has been on my mind lately that I am not informed on this topic and nothing is more important to our health and survival than quality water. I’ve been spending money on bottled water and will look into your recommendations. Certainly bottled water would not be sustainable in a survival scenario. As such, the information you’ve provided could prove life saving. Again, thank you!

Interesting thought, Dad! I have never thought of that, but you’re probably right. As sources for pure water diminish, I can imagine that people are going to start getting very territorial over their water supplies.

This is an area that I am still so uncertain about. My husband and I started using distilled water years ago instead of our town water. We now have a well, but the water is so incredibly hard that we have to soften it and then “condition” it. Any thoughts on “conditioned” water and distilled water? I know distilled water contains no minerals. Thanks.

Hello – I understand you already have the softener installed but they (the installers) can “by-pass” a cold-water faucet so you have a faucet that puts out un-softened water.
Hard water is hard on appliances and fixtures so you want conditioned water going through your hot water heater, toilets, etc.

Hi Donna,
If you’re using salt to soften your water, it’s not very good for the environment. Salty water kills plants, is bad for soil, and wastes water. I don’t know its effects on the human body, but if it’s not good for plants, I’m guessing it’s not good for me either, ya know? 😉 As for distilled water, you are right — it contains no minerals. Water lacking in minerals can actually chelate valuable minerals out of the body when consumed over time, which creates mineral deficiency in the body — no good. I’m not sure I have a good solution for you, except to suggest investing in either bottled or natural spring water or a carbon block filter system, such as the Berkey. For your showers, the shower head filter is going to be your best option. Thanks for the question!

I just moved into a new construction home in Phoenix and started researching for the best “whole house water filtration system”. I read Wellness Mama’s article, which was very informative.

We were contemplating using a water softener because the water in Arizona is so hard. However, after reading your response above, I’m rethinking this. Is there a water softener on the market that does not use salt? Which water filtration system do you use? Have you heard of Fleck Water System? They seem to have high ratings but Wellness Mama article mentioned Radiant Life or Berkey. Of course we want the best filtration system, but also the most bang for the buck.:)

Thank you for taking the time to write these blogs! So happy I stumbled across your site. I will definitely become a member!

So a few years ago I bought a Berkley thinking that is the BEST option for removing the junk. I also got the Fluoride filters as we have “city water.” I gave it a try and I REALLY wanted to like the water, but it was aweful !!!!
The water had an opaque oily sheen on top and a metalic taste to it !!!
I contacted the company several times and spoke with several people.
They instructed me to change filters (though they were new) and flush it well.
We did that.
The terribleness persisted.
So we don’t use this anymore . . ..It’s just not drinkable. . . .
Anyone else have this problem ?
Everyone gives the Berkley rave reviews. I wonder what we did wrong ?
🙁

KarenL,
My understanding is that most toxins (bacteria, parasites, heavy metals) are larger than trace minerals are, so the Berkey “catches” the larger particles/toxins, but the smaller minerals pass through the filter. I hope that answers your question! 🙂

…and following one “source” link above, Mercola even says the “only” problem with Reverse Osmosis is the expense of the equipment and needing a professional to install it. He says nothing about them removing good minerals or having adverse affects on the body.

The reason this is so near and dear to my heart is that we own a water treatment / purification company in our city. We sell Reverse Osmosis systems. Years ago, I looked and looked for reliable information about RO units as I felt awful about selling them to the public! But I could not find anything conclusive. Most people speaking badly about RO units were selling something else themselves. Those speaking well of RO units were, themselves, selling RO units.

I just want to know the truth. And need reliable sourcing for the information.

“Did you know that showering in chlorinated tap water may be even worse than drinking it?” This is the question I used to ask so many people around me. They are so much conscious about their drinking water but not aware of the shower water. They don’t know the dangerous chlorine affection of shower water. I always advise them to filter their shower water before taking a nice shower, Thanks for the post.

Last Christmas I received an Alexapure water filtration system. It is a carbon filter based gravity system similar to the Berkey, except that it filters out Flouride without an additional filter. After using it for 100% of our drinking and cooking water I developed some patches of dry skin on my hands that I was unable to clear up with an kind of lotion (homemade with the best ingredients and store-bought). Then we went on vacation. While on vacation for 10 days the dry skin slowing improved and was gone by the time we returned. After being home just over a week, and again drinking only the filtered water, the dry skin returned. In trying to figure out the cause of this I decided to stop drinking the filtered water for a week and see if my skin improved. Again, when not drinking the filtered water my dry skin disappeared. I have not changed my diet or other habits over this time. What convinced me even more was when my Dad(who gave me the filter and used one himself) came for a visit and showed me his hands. The were so dry and cracked and he said he had tried so many lotions and creams including prescription ones and nothing was working for it.

My thought is that this may be caused by a mineral deficiency and perhaps the chelating effect you spoke of above that can happen with RO water. Of course that doesn’t make sense when it is a carbon filter. I’d love to be able to drink the filtered water and know I am not being exposed to so many harmful contaminates but at this point I also like not having dry and cracked skin hands.

My thought is that this may be caused by a mineral deficiency and perhaps the chelating effect you spoke of above that can happen with RO water. Of course that doesn’t make sense when it is a carbon filter. I’d love to be able to drink the filtered water and know I am not being exposed to so many harmful contaminates but at this point I also like not having dry and cracked skin hands.

Thanks a lot for sharing such an insightful article. Really, water purifiers are the need of the hour considering how increasingly the impurities exhibited by the industries are polluting the water bodies. The presence of impurities can prove very harmful if adequate measures are not taken to remove them. Thus, water purifiers must be installed and should be considered as an investment.

Of the options you listed here, I think I’m going to see about adding a whole house water filter. Now the water in my home isn’t all that bad, but I would like to improve it to where I can be sure that it will always be good to drink and cook with it. Also, I would for sure have to find someone to come and install the filter for me as I really have no idea how to install it or where it should go.

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